Grant County, Oklahoma
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Grant County is a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located on the northern border of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,169. Its
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is Medford. Originally designated as part of the Cherokee Outlet, it was named County L in Oklahoma Territory at the time of its opening to non-Indian settlement. A county election renamed it for U.S. President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
.


History

Grant County was part of the
Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...
's Cherokee Outlet until it was opened to non-Indian settlers in response to public demand on September 16, 1893. Settlers named the county after President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
in a general election held November 6, 1894. Congress originally designated this area as County L in
Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...
, with the county seat at Pond Creek. Medford became the county seat through an election held on May 27, 1908.Wilson, Linda D. The ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Grant County."
Accessed January 8, 2017.
The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway (later the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway) built a railroad from northern
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
through Grant County in 1889 and 1890. In 1897, the Gulf Railroad (later the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...
, AT&SF) linked Manchester, Wakita, Medford, and Deer Creek. At the start of the 20th century, the Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) passed through Lamont. Still later, the Denver, Enid and Gulf Railroad (later the AT&SF) reached Nash (Nashville). The railroads gave the county access to markets in the northern and eastern U.S., helping turn the county into a major agriculture and cattle producer. At statehood, the principal crops were wheat, corn, oats, alfalfa, and forage sorghum. The county also had more than fourteen thousand each of hogs and cattle as well as almost thirteen thousand horses. Bethel was the site of a post office in Grant County that existed from March 12, 1895, until November 2, 1895. Florence was the site of a post office in Grant Co. that existed prior to 1908 but ceased to exist ''circa'' 1920, after the post office closed, per information acquired in researching an ancestor, Isaac Arnold, who was postmaster in Florence from August 1908 to 1920. In October 2024, four of the sheriff's department deputies resigned at the same time. This left the sheriff's office with one deputy.


Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water. Most of the county is drained by the
Salt Fork of the Arkansas River The Salt Fork of the Arkansas River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Arkansas River in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma Ok ...
and its tributaries (Pond, Deer, Osage, and Crooked creeks). The Chikaskia River flows southeast from Kansas into the county's northeastern corner, then crosses east into Kay County. The county is by the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
on the north, specifically Sumner and Harper counties. Adjacent counties in
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
are Kay County to the east, Garfield County to the south, and Alfalfa County to the west.


Major highways

* U.S. Route 60 * U.S. Route 64 * U.S. Route 81 * State Highway 11 * State Highway 11A * State Highway 74 * State Highway 132


Adjacent counties

* Alfalfa County (west) * Garfield County (south) *
Harper County, Kansas Harper County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Anthony. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,485. The county was named for Sergeant Marion Harper of the 2nd Kansas Ca ...
(northwest) * Kay County (east) * Noble County (southeast) *
Sumner County, Kansas Sumner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Wellington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,382. The county is named after Charles Sumner, a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts who was a leader of ...
(northeast)


Demographics

As of the 2010
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, the county's population was 4,527, a 12 percent decline from 5,144 at the 2000 census. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 2,622 housing units at an average density of . More than 90 percent of residents self-identified as
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
. Less than 3 percent of residents self-identified as Native American and less than 2 percent self-identified as
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race. Less than 1 percent of the population self-identified as
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, Asian, or
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
. Less than 2 percent of the population self-identified as of a race not listed or as from two or more races. There were 2,089 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.30% were non-families. 28.40% of households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 24.10% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 21.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,977, and the median income for a family was $35,833. Males had a median income of $26,837 versus $19,036 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $15,709. About 10.50% of families and 13.70% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 19.60% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.


Politics


Political culture


Economy

The county economy has largely been based on agriculture since before statehood. At statehood the principal crops included wheat, corn, oats, alfalfa, and forage sorghum with estimated value of $3.5 million. Farmers and ranchers had more than fourteen thousand each of hogs and cattle as well as almost thirteen thousand horses. Oil and gas were discovered In the early 1920s in the eastern part of the county near the Blackwell Field. On April 24, 1921, the first oil well in Grant County, was drilled near Deer Creek.


Government and infrastructure

Circa early October 2024, the Grant County Sheriff's Department had four deputies.


Communities


Cities

* Medford * Pond Creek


Towns

* Deer Creek * Jefferson * Lamont *
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
* Nash * Renfrow * Wakita


Unincorporated communities

* Clyde * Sand Creek *
Gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical forests from eastern Bangladesh and Northeast Indi ...


Education

School districts include: * Billings Public Schools * Deer Creek-Lamont Schools * Kremlin-Hillsdale Schools * Medford Public Schools * Pond Creek-Hunter Schools * Timberlake Public Schools Former school districts: * Wakita Public Schools
Text list
/ref> - Merged into Medford Public Schools in 2011.


NRHP sites

The following sites in Grant County are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
: * Bank of Nashville, Nash * Dayton School, Lamont * Deer Creek General Merchandise Store, Deer Creek * Grant County Courthouse, Medford * Medford Bathhouse and Swimming Pool, Medford


References


Further reading

* Shirk, George H. ''Oklahoma Place Names''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.


External links


Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Grant County

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{authority control 1893 establishments in Oklahoma Territory Populated places established in 1893